Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure
For those who have elevated blood pressure (systolic blood pressure > 120 and diastolic blood pressure >80) the first intervention your doctor may do is put you on a blood pressure lowering medicine.
Unfortunately, many people may feel that once they are on a medication, they may not need to worry about changing their lifestyle (1). If you are wanting a natural way to improve blood pressure and hopefully cut back on some of the medications you’re on, focus on ways to modify your diet and lifestyle.
Tips for naturally lowering blood pressure:
1. Weight loss
This is one of the most effective ways to reduce blood pressure. On average, if you lose 2.2 lbs of weight this can decrease blood pressure by 1 mmHg (2). If you struggle with weight loss, check out some of my other blog posts going over weight loss tips.
2. Cut back on sodium
Aiming for sodium intakes of less than 2,300 mg (about 1 tsp of salt) per day is recommended for heart health. Cutting back on sodium can lower blood pressure 5-6 mmHg. Be mindful of reading food labels and limiting processed foods.
3. Physical Activity
If you exercise 30 minutes most days of the week, you can lower blood pressure by 5-8 mmHg (2). The key is finding any type of movement you enjoy doing, and don’t feel like you have to do the full exercise all in one setting. Even breaking it up into 10 minute sessions three times per day is great!
4. Alcohol
If you do drink alcohol, make sure you are consuming only moderate amounts (1-2 drinks per day). This can lower blood pressure by 4 mmHg (2).
Uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to other serious conditions such as heart attack or stroke. Behavior change can be difficult, so if you need to talk to a professional on where to start, consider reaching out to your doctor or dietitian.
1. Akbarpour, S., Khalili, D., Zeraati, H. et al. Healthy lifestyle behaviors and control of hypertension among adult hypertensive patients. Sci Rep 8, 8508 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-26823-5
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